Henchmen

Once upon a time, there lived a great red dragon who terrorised the land. She was much like other dragons: cruel and cunning, selfish and vain, and with utter disregard for lesser beings like you and I.

Though her wealth had grown great over the years, her greed was greater still. She coveted the riches of the neighbouring kingdom, and vowed that they would one day be hers. But the kingdom’s armies were strong, and its people brave and pure of heart – a foe to reckon with, even for a mighty dragon. Unwilling to risk direct assault, she watched and waited, brooding in her lair until a plan began to form.

Many creatures, vile and wicked, were in her service – most ensnared by fear or promise of reward. All were weak and stupid, of course, as can be expected of humans, goblins and others of their kind. But they were numerous and expendable, which made them useful for simpler tasks like plunder and espionage.

And now she has a mission for a particularly wretched group of underlings – that is to say, for you…

This is a light-hearted fantasy story, inspired in part by Choice of the Dragon and The Hobbit. It will be playing with common tropes and clichés in fairytales and fantasy, and will focus on a group of minions working for the villain rather than on more traditional heroes. We’ll follow them on their impossible quest to bring a kingdom to its knees, and learn more about their motivations and struggles along the way.